Collaborations

 
The Ensemble seeks to connect and inform all people who are committed to ensemble music education for youth empowerment and social change.

Online Sessions for Educators by The Abolitionist Teaching Network

11-04-2020

The Abolitionist Teaching Network is offering two online sessions for educators looking to continue the work of unlearning racist practices in the classroom. BIPOC are invited to attend Freedom Fridays with Noor Jones-Bey on November 6 (and every first Friday), 8–9 p.m. EST. The workshop will offer art forms such as poetry, movement, music, writing prompts, and more to help you through the month. Learn more and register here. And on Thursday, November 12, 8–9:30 p.m. EST, you can attend an online event titled, “No Matter Who Wins the Election, We Need an Abolitionist Agenda.” Panelists include 2018 and 2019 National Teachers of the Year, ATN cofounder Bettina Love, and more. Register here.

Canada Connects

11-03-2020

As El Sistema-inspired programs, we value community. Over the years, programs of various shapes and sizes have sprung up across Canada, laying down roots in priority communities. Although each program is unique in how it strives to support the students and families it serves, we are united as El Sistema-inspired programs in our shared belief in the transformative power of music. We are also bound together in confronting issues that concern all Canadians—issues of income inequality, racism, and systemic oppression, to name a few.

Collective Action for Greater Impact

11-03-2020

I am a musician, conductor, and educator who strives to bring reason and connection to my community. This focus was emboldened in 2009 when I was invited by Roberto Zambrano to come to Venezuela as a teaching artist with the Archipelago Project. There, I saw how real community engagement and collective effort can produce excellence. In 2018, I was fortunate to apply for a leadership job with the ROCmusic Collaborative in Rochester, NY. What interested me was the opportunity to work inside an atypical structure that could pool resources and work to recreate the communal spirit I witnessed in Venezuela.

Royal College of Music Offers Three-Day Course on Teaching Young Musicians

10-15-2020

The Royal College of Music in Stockholm and El Sistema Academy in Sweden are teaming up to offer a three-day course on developing musicianship in young people, titled “Subject didactics for teaching children and young people in orchestral playing and choir singing.” Taught by Ronny Linderborg in collaboration with Ron Davis Alvarez (Artistic Director of El Sistema Sweden), the course will take place January 29–31. This offering is free of charge for citizens in the EU, in the EEA states of Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein, and in Switzerland, though citizens of other countries will need to pay the registration and tuition fees. It is promising to see El Sistema receive continued recognition and prominence at higher learning institutions, so please share this widely and consider signing up yourself. The application period ends on October 15; read more about the course here.

Ceding the Floor to Young People in Crisis Times

10-07-2020

Have you ever wondered what the future will be like? Will future leaders be more aware and empathetic? At El Sistema Greece (ESG), such questions never cease to concern us. How do we help our young people become the leaders they’re capable of being?

Northeast Seminario Drop Party Recording

10-07-2020

From August 10–14, El Sistema USA and the Collective Conservatory partnered to host the Northeastern Seminario, this time with a special focus on blues music. Eight programs from the Northeast participated in this virtual Seminario, providing the 60 participating young musicians with many opportunities to connect and collaborate. Their week of jamming and improvising together will be presented in a live “Drop Party,” taking place Thursday, October 8, at 7:00 p.m. EDT. Check out ESUSA’s Facebook page for the watch link, which will be accessible after the event as well.

Music as a Birthright in Elkhart County

10-06-2020

In Elkhart County, Indiana, our goal is to provide all people with equitable access to quality music education from birth to young adulthood. We believe music is a birthright for every child in our community—that the extraordinary benefits of music education should be built into the fabric of every young person’s upbringing. It’s not a coincidence that the name of our program, ECoSistema (Elkhart County El Sistema), means “ecosystem” in Spanish: we believe that the El Sistema-inspired field can have the greatest impact when we take the overlapping systems already in place in our community and build music into them.

Music to Save Humanity Announces Global Virtual Video Project

09-16-2020

Music to Save Humanity is launching an online music project in collaboration with Ballet for All Kids and the Pacific Academy Foundation Orchestra, inviting instrumentalists from all ages and levels, from beginners to professionals, to participate in an online performance of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite. View their first installment here, and consider contacting them at info@musictosavehumanity.org to get involved. They are looking to extend and strengthen their network and are working on more collaborations as part of the Global Virtual Video Project. These videos will be used as outreach to communities that may not have access to the performing arts during this pandemic, including children’s hospitals, assisted living facilities, community organizations, and foundations that support the blind and disabled all around the world.

Side By Side: Digital Video

09-16-2020

Back in June, El Sistema Sweden and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra were forced to adapt their annual Side by Side music camp to COVID times, transitioning an event that usually hosts over 2,500 young musicians into an entirely virtual experience. Having long desired a digital platform to complement the in-person camp, they hit the ground running. The result? Side by Side Digital, a virtual music camp that hosted 700 participants from 30-plus countries. Their performance of The Lion King’s “Circle of Life,” put together by Christer Hedberg from &friends, combines self-filmed clips with camp recordings from the Concert Hall. In the words of ES Sweden, “‘Circle of Life’ represents for us in a very brilliant way the basic idea behind Side by Side—that music can unite us beyond all boundaries.”

Brazil to the Silk Road, Handmade Drums to Pro Tools: How two youth music organizations in the UK are maintaining engagement and exploring new territory

09-02-2020

With the continuation of lockdown halting all live music activity, orchestras and ensembles are becoming more and more accustomed to this new ‘Zoom’ reality. In this article, I mention two recent online musical events I’ve been involved with, specifically the National Orchestra For All’s (NOFA) Online Summer Course and Jubacana’s Summer School. I also contribute my own observations about each occasion given that both events were the first of their kind for the respective organizations.

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